MOSCOW, December 23 The Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce (IRTC) intends to launch a system by February 14, 2024 that will allow Russian companies to buy Italian goods permitted for import into Russia for rubles , said the head of the IRTP Ferdinando Pelazzo.
“Our board of directors will meet on February 14 next year. We are convinced that on February 14 we will offer the entire tool to our board of directors, and almost from the next day everything will work. We just need to report, get the go-ahead,” Pelazzo said.
He added that there were some “financial issues” remaining, but there was still time before the appointed date.
Previously, Pelazzo reported that the system allows a Russian buyer to pay for Italian goods in IRTP rubles, and the chamber itself could then transfer this money from its account in a third country to Italy.
“We have agreed with the bank of the third country we have decided on — this is Armenia… We not only control payments, but also logistics. Now the costs of sending goods through Armenia and through Europe are more or less the same. The country is not very far from Italy. We We can monitor the entire process more transparently,” said the head of the IRTI.
According to him, now IRTP is in the process of opening an account in an Armenian bank, but has encountered difficulties: Armenia is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, but has joined the Minsk Convention, so when translating documentation it is necessary to involve translators accredited at the Armenian embassy.
«We spent quite a lot of time to obtain certain permissions. In particular, we checked if there were any objections from the Central Bank of Italy. We received the go-ahead, so now we are in the process of opening an account,» Pelazzo emphasized.